Police: Kidnapper fatally shot himself

A McKeesport man abducted a woman and their 1-year-old child in Homewood on Wednesday and then killed himself in his car in Swissvale as officers tried to negotiate with him, police said.

The medical examiner’s office identified the man as Andre Williams Jr., 20.

Coleman McDonough, superintendent of Allegheny County Police, said dispatchers received a 911 call at 2:11 a.m. indicating a child had been kidnapped from a home on El Court in Homewood.

Witnesses told Pittsburgh police that a man had just fled with a woman and a child in an SUV.

Officers obtained a

description of the man and the car and contacted police in Swissvale after learning he might be headed there.

Swissvale officers located the vehicle on Highland Avenue about 4 a.m. Three people were in the back seat — Mr. Williams, a 19-yearold woman and a 1-year-old child.

Superintendent McDonough said officers approached the SUV and tried to negotiate with Mr. Williams. But Mr. Williams would not respond or show his hands, he said.

Officers shattered the SUV’s rear window. At almost the same time, Superintendent McDonough said, Mr. Williams shot himself in the head.

He was pronounced dead at 4:47 a.m.

The woman and the baby were not hurt.

Investigators determined that two juveniles — D’Ambrosse Garland, 17, and Zanaya McKenzie, 17 — accompanied Mr. Williams and participated in the kidnapping. The teenagers will be charged with kidnapping, kidnapping a minor and conspiracy, Superintendent McDonough said. Garland also will be charged with drug violations.

Details on the extent of their involvement were not immediately available.

A temporary protectionfrom-abuse order was filed in August 2015 against an Andre Williams with the same date of birth on behalf of a woman who is now 19.

In the PFA, the woman wrote that Mr. Williams forced her to stay in his house and she “was dragged by my hair every time I was trying to leave. He threw me around by my shirt and was choking me. ... He kept calling me ... sending me threats ...”

The PFA was dismissed a little more than a week later.